The chosen one to replace Courtois
Real Madrid is eyeing a goalkeeper from the Premier League.
Real Madrid is following goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen from Brighton, aiming to plan for the succession in goal of Thibaut Courtois towards 2028. The main objective for Real Madrid is to find a goalkeeper who can defend the goal for a decade and take over the position that the Belgian will vacate, which will not be easy at all.
According to journalist Ben Fernandez Santos in Sport Bild, the management of Real Madrid is monitoring the progress of the 24-year-old goalkeeper, who would be open to a transfer to Chamartín if a formal offer is made. The Madrid team is not the only one interested in signing him, as clubs like Liverpool and Arsenal are also keeping a close eye on the performance of the Dutch goalkeeper at Brighton.
Verbruggen's performance at Brighton and his contract synchronization with Courtois
Verbruggen has a contract with Brighton until June 2028. This date coincides with the expected timeline for the renewal being negotiated by Courtois, who is close to extending his contract with Real Madrid until that same year, by which time he will be 36 years old.
The performance of the Dutch goalkeeper in the Premier League supports this monitoring. His most decisive performance came in the 0-1 victory for Brighton against Manchester City away, a match where he kept a clean sheet and solidified the interest from several elite continental clubs. The environment surrounding Verbruggen sees the option of moving to the Spanish capital as a priority over considering other transfer proposals if the white club activates the generational replacement operation.
Market alternatives considered by Real Madrid
The technical staff of Real Madrid is not limiting its planning to a single profile and maintains detailed reports on other goalkeepers in European football. Among the names observed are Diogo Costa from FC Porto, and Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain, both in a similar age range to compete at the top level. In a younger age group, the white club is closely following the development of Guillaume Restes, who is 21 years old, at Toulouse, alongside additional monitoring of profiles such as Luca Brugmans and David Raya.
The next step for Real Madrid will be to maintain in-person reports on Bart Verbruggen during league matches with Brighton over the coming months, monitoring whether a move is formalized before the goalkeeper enters the final phase of his contract.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El elegido para suplir a Courtois